The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is concreting roads in Mumbai's eastern suburbs, with a tender worth INR 1,224 crore covering 261 roads, augmenting ongoing work on 182 roads. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's directive aims to eliminate potholes and enhance road quality within two years. Initially, tenders worth INR 5,800 crore for 400 kilometers were floated, later cancelled due to a lacklustre response. Fresh tenders of INR 6,080 crore for 397 kilometers were issued, but challenges persisted, leading to cancelled contracts and new tenders. Concerns about pace and quality remain, underscoring the need for addressing contractor performance and project execution issues.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has taken an effort to upgrade infrastructure by concreting roads in Mumbai's eastern suburbs. With a tender valued at INR 1,224 crore, the BMC aims to concretise 261 additional roads in the region, adding to the ongoing work on 182 roads. This covers approximately 72 kilometres and represents the second phase of the initiative, as stated by a municipal official.
Eknath Shinde instructed the BMC as soon as he took charge as chief minister in 2022 to pave all roads within the next two years, aiming to eliminate potholes and enhance the quality of Mumbai's road infrastructure. The municipal corporation initially floated tenders totaling INR 5,800 crore to concretise 400 kilometres of roads. However, due to a lacklustre response, these tenders were cancelled three months later.
BMC then invited fresh tenders amounting to INR 6,080 crore for concreting 397 kilometers of roads citywide. These contracts were awarded to multiple entities, including Eagle Infra India for the eastern suburbs, Megha Engineering and Infra, Dineshchandra R Agrawal Infracon, and NCC for western suburbs and Roadway Solution India Infrastructure for the island city. Despite these initiatives, hurdles were faced, as demonstrated by BMC's resolution to cancel an INR 1,600 crore contract granted to Roadway Solutions because that company failed to start operations within 10 months of obtaining the order. Recently, BMC issued a new tender valued at INR 1,363 crore, excluding GST, specifically targeting the concreting of 235 roads in the island city.
However, amidst these developments, concerns have emerged regarding the pace and quality of work.
BMC's efforts to upgrade Mumbai's road infrastructure through concreting initiatives has encountered both successes and setbacks. While substantial investments and tendering efforts show the commitment to this goal, challenges such as contractor performance and project execution still matter. Addressing these concerns will be crucial in ensuring the timely and effective completion of this critical infrastructure project.
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